Startups make teeing more accessible, affordable

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 5

Notwithstanding small golf market in the country, North India-based startups are making golf — considered to be a rich man’s game — more accessible and affordable. Besides, they are also helping golf clubs maximise course utilisation and revenue. These companies are targeting executives, amateur and professional golfers. 

India, having less than 350 golf courses and 80,000 active golfers, is a small market as compared to global industry. Total organised retail market for golfing in the country is pegged at Rs 100 crore.

Out of the total courses, 50% are owned by Defence forces, 15% by private clubs while the rest are managed by state governments and others.

In the northern region, including Delhi, there are around 50 golf courses of different categories. 

Chandigarh-based Golfoy began operations in 2014 with pre-owned golf balls and selling them at rock-bottom prices. In order to serve the masses, the company developed indigenous golf brands — Viper Golf and Golfoy Basics, which became instant hit due to their lower prices unlike international brands that attracts high customs duty.  

“We are making golf affordable and accessible with a range of golf equipment and accessories. We have reached golfers who were unattended to date from remote regions such as Kochi, Port Blair, Guwahati, Imphal, Jabalpur and Gandhidham. Along with this, our major customers are from metros such as Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad,” said Golfoy founder Tushar Narang. The company has also launched scholarship programme through which they are supporting top junior golfers of the country. 

Another startup, Delhi-based Golflan is a one-stop shop for booking tee times. Besides bringing more revenue to the under-utilised golf courses, they facilitate the golfers by making it affordable. 

“Prior to venturing into business, I called up a few golf courses in Delhi and asked them to book a session for me, but they did not have anything online related to golf. I checked a significant number of golf courses in India alone and nothing was available online. So the idea of bringing golf to an online platform was conceived and now a golfer can book a session just like movie tickets,” Golfan founder and CEO Dhruv Verma said. 

Similarly, Gurugram-based Sportdeals.in is an e-commerce player dedicated to golf only. “As the prices of equipment have gone down in the past few years, many more people have opted for this sport,” said its founder Pawan Kapur.

Major golfing facilities in region

• Haryana: Gurugram, Manesar, Hisar, Panipat, Karnal, Ambala
• Punjab: Dera Bassi, Patiala, Ludhiana, Phillaur, Jalandhar, Amritsar
• Tricity: Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula
• Himachal Pradesh: Naldhera, Dharamsala
• J&K: Jammu, Srinagar, Pahalgam